The bike has been standing for a month-ish and the clutch was seized this morning. This happened last year. A few bumps back and forth sorted it. No luck this time, I took the cover off and worked the clutch in and now it works however it won't select any gear or neutral. Any pointers are greatly received, I suspect it's a new clutch time although the bike has only done 4K Also, can anyone confirm this is a slipper clutch and if so does that change anything if new plates are needed? Many thanks.
Has it got an open cover? Looks like moisture has got into the clutch pack and likely corroded the plates. This will make them stick together which won’t help gear changes. I would strip the plates out and clean them all. While at it, suggest measuring for wear and checking the drum and basket. Clutch is a non-slipper type. One can tell as there are teeth on the drum. Edit - doh, that's bollocks. The visible teeth are the slots for the steels! Sorry.
Rust...... Air cooled clutches can't cope with rusty clutch plates - they stick and can cause many different symptoms like unable to select gear and not freeing when clutch lifting. Take apart clean all the plates ( I do it with an orbital sander with 400 abrasive to remove the rust ) clear all the slots in the clutch to ensure plates move freely. Also change you clutch fluid and bleed , it might not be fully lifting the clutch. Hope this helps. Don't use anti rust stuff like WD40 etc on the plates ( you might be then suffering from clutch slip at higher rpm ) don't ask how I know lol I've also managed to bend rusty clutch plates when they catch on the rusty basket
Thanks for the info everyone. It's a carbon cover with slots to see the clutch spin. I'll research cleaning and checking the plates So do the Ducati Performance parts serve any purpose or are they just bling?
Your pressure plate is form over function I'm afraid and having a vented clutch case won't help. Andy
Bling. But nice bling. You’ve just got to clean all the rust off the steel plates, that’s why it’s dragging and you can’t find neutral.
thanks everyone ,I found this vid on youtube How To Fix Ducati Dry Clutch Moan - Remove, Clean & Inspect Plates - YouTube
As some has said, all you need to do is carefully dismantle everything and then clean and de-rust the plain plates, there is a good chance that you don't need to replace anything, but check the bearing on the end of the pushrod to make sure it's not partially seized or "clunky" when you spin the pressure plate. I don't know if it's seen rain when it's parked? but because of the side stand angle, unfortunately any water/rain the bike is exposed to, is trapped at the back of the clutch plates, if only the side stand had been on the other side of the bike then it would have drained away!
Yep, I think my lack of understanding has caused this. I went to Donnington WSBK, rode home in the rain, washed it a couple of days later, and then left it as I was using my Multi. I will in future take her for spin after washing.
All fixed ,I decided on a full kit of Newfren friction and steel plates from DR. Bikes as the old plates were pretty ropey when I got then out. Thanks for all the information
